


Stay with Me

by definekimjongdae (junhyung)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Goblin - Freeform, Grim Reapers, M/M, Sad ChanKai, Superpowers, but this is sad, no idea if this is light angst or heavy angst or just angst, why do i write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 22:30:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9628112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junhyung/pseuds/definekimjongdae
Summary: A goblin should be the last being any grim reaper will want to be involved in anything with. Jongin falls for Chanyeol, anyway.





	

**Author's Note:**

> heavily inspired by, obviously, goblin. title is from the ost. lee dong wook/yoo in na remains the number one pairing i root for but chankai seems to fit the whole goblin/grim reaper theme so well and apparently i'm the easiest pushover ever, even to myself. this fic contains minor spoilers to the basic concepts of the drama, mainly how grim reapers (and the goblin) came to be, the magical abilities that they possess, and the likes.

Jongin shouldn't be surprised when Chanyeol finds him, perched on top of the tallest building in South Korea. The NEATT overlooks the quiet city of Incheon, and Jongin has a specific reason for choosing to spend a cold, lonely night right here, alone, in the cold.

"Fuck, it's so _cold_. Why do you always have to go to places like this?" Chanyeol demands, voice muffled by the strong wind.

Sure enough, Chanyeol is shivering in his own arms when Jongin turns to check.

"I've never asked you to come," Jongin retorts, turning back to face the city below, the bright, stagnant lights and the tall, tall buildings.

There's a specific reason to why Jongin chooses this exact place. The quiet soothes him. The breeze lulls him. The festive, vivid lights act as a blanket of deception that hides the dull, sluggish city underneath it. The cold envelopes Jongin like a second skin. Scares Chanyeol away, too. Or, well, it is supposed to. Jongin should have known that Chanyeol is too stubborn for that, even as his body protests.

He might as well go and meditate in the sun, or something.

"That's just mean," Chanyeol complains, trudging forward until he's at the edge of the building, until Jongin can feel the faint hint of the unearthly heat that Chanyeol radiates from his body to keep the extreme cold away. "Plus, it gets lonely in the sun."

Jongin turns, wide-eyed, but it's not because Chanyeol has just, quite literally, read his mind. They do this all the time, anyway, Jongin as a sort of aid in doing his job and Chanyeol as, well, Jongin doesn't know exactly.

"The deity loves and dotes on me, that's why," Chanyeol answers, even if Jongin's never verbally asked. "Oh, stop looking at me like that. I've never been to the sun, okay?" Warm air rises from Chanyeol's mouth as he breathes out. "It was a joke; you looked sad."

Jongin frowns. "Nine hundred years alive and you've never been to the sun," he counters, rather weakly.

"Three hundred years of collecting dead souls and you still wouldn't watch a single horror movie," is Chanyeol's witty comeback, the subtle smile on his face something that Jongin never misses.

He's always so smart, so entertaining, so endlessly lively. So happy and everything else that Jongin thrives to be.

"You're thinking loudly again," Chanyeol tells him, smiling handsomely, despite everything. His dimple winks at Jongin, and Jongin tries to ignore the loud beating of his heart. Thump, thump, thump.

A particularly strong gust of wind blows past. Jongin bathes in the familiarity. "You probably are, too, except I know how to respect other people's privacy."

"And like to go around shaking people's hands to dig into their past lives," Chanyeol sighs into the night air.

"It's part of my job," Jongin defends, despite Chanyeol's obviously playful tone.

Conversations like this makes Jongin think. With Chanyeol, Jongin can never talk about anything without it making himself think - of what he sees in other people, of what he can't see in himself. Grim reapers are born off souls who have sinned greatly in their lives. It's not seldom that Jongin wonders just what great, great sins he had committed in his life (or is it lives?), how disgustingly cruel and inhumane they were.

Other times - and these are very rare - Jongin wonders what turned Chanyeol into what he is now - a being of eternal life, haunted by the memories of his past and cursed with immortality.

What makes a goblin?

"You're thinking things, again," makes Jongin jump in his stance, jerking at the sudden warmth beside him and the close, close proximity of Chanyeol.

"And you're reading my mind without my consent, always," Jongin says, stepping back, only for Chanyeol to close the distance effortlessly.

"I'm allowed to read your mind when it's me you're thinking of." Chanyeol's eyes sparkle under the moonlight, his beautiful, oh so beautiful, large eyes so crisp and clear like they haven't aged a day since he turned seventeen. "Always," Chanyeol adds, after a beat of consideration.

Jongin's eyes go wide, as they _always_ do around Chanyeol and his unpredictable acts. "I do not _always_ think of you," he sputters, trying not to look. He's definitely not struggling to ignore the warmth that trickles up his neck to blossom on his cheeks.

A rise of a perfectly carved brow - and Jongin doesn't have to look to know it happened, not when it's Chanyeol. Not when he's memorised _everything_ that is Park Chanyeol. "Is that so?" Chanyeol asks, face so close Jongin is sure the tip of his nose would brush Chanyeol's cheek if he turned.

_Are you cold? I wish you were cold._

"I wish you were cold," Chanyeol voices out loud, not turning away from where he's facing Jongin. Jongin can feel Chanyeol's hot breath against his ear, fanning his hair, ghosting his cheek.

_So I'll have an excuse to hug you._

Jongin burns red at that.

Apparently, that happens quite visibly, because Chanyeol is saying in a knowing tone, "You're reading my mind," and the embarrassment travels up Jongin's neck so fast he actually _shivers_ under the cold.

Oh, the irony.

"Can I hug you, anyway?" Chanyeol asks, inching closer.

Jongin doesn't step back, not this time, partly in fear that Chanyeol might only inch closer, but also because he simply doesn't want to. There is a reason to why Jongin chose this high, secluded, _cold_ place to spend the night at - to escape from Chanyeol whose heat contrasts Jongin's frost, to rid of the rapid beating of his heart that seems to never cease whenever Chanyeol is around.

Chanyeol doesn't envelope his arms around Jongin in a hug. Instead he takes Jongin's hand in his, and it's... warm. Chanyeol is so tall, so lean and attractive and handsome, and his hand is warm around Jongin's smaller one, and Jongin is constantly falling.

Jongin doesn't see Chanyeol's previous life, even as their hands touch, not when this is the only life Chanyeol has ever lived.

"Can I," Chanyeol utters, trailing off.

The air is cold still, but Chanyeol is warm, especially when he inches closer slowly, even closer, taking one last step until his coat grazes against Jongin's, until Jongin can see the individual strands of Chanyeol's lashes, the plump of his pretty, pretty lips.

Chanyeol doesn't have to finish his sentence for Jongin to know what he's trying to say.

_Can I kiss you?_

The kiss of a grim reaper brings back memories of one's previous life, Jongin's mind provides. Chanyeol hears him loud and clear.

"The kiss of a grim reaper brings back memories of your previous life," he echoes, his face so close he doesn't have to speak so loudly for Jongin to hear him, even as the wind continues to blow unrelentlessly. "I know. You've said it too many times. I know, and I don't have a previous life. I've lived this life for nine hundred years. And I want to spend the rest of it with you. So can I-"

Chanyeol's hand around Jongin is warm still, so warm, and the beautiful, beautiful eyes staring back at Jongin are deep oceans Jongin is willing to swim endlessly in, to drown in and never come back.

Yes, yes, yes. I want to. I want to. I want you.

So Chanyeol kisses Jongin, and Jongin melts and sobs and drowns and flails but Chanyeol holds him close and doesn't let go. It's like Chanyeol is both the unforgiving weight tied around Jongin's foot that pulls him down and the strong arms that keep him up and afloat and safe. Chanyeol's lips against Jongin's is wet and plush and soft, soft, soft, the kiss that he presses against Jongin's mouth slow and deep and chaste and everything that Jongin is sure he isn't supposed to be doing because he's not so sure he can escape anymore, not when Chanyeol seems so sincere, not when Jongin's fallen so hard and deep for everything that is Chanyeol, Chanyeol, _Chanyeol_.

A tear flows down Jongin's lashes, wets his cheek, and he pulls away from the kiss, nose brushing against Chanyeol's and watching Chanyeol's eyes flutter open. Jongin only now realises that Chanyeol has his other hand resting on his neck, thumb on the crook of his ear. It's a nice feeling, having Chanyeol so close, having him touch Jongin, feel Jongin, _have_ Jongin. A dull, painful ache blooms in Jongin's chest.

"Can you see my future, when you look me in the eyes?" he asks Chanyeol, looking up at him, locking their gazes.

And are you there?

"I am," Chanyeol answers, not missing a beat.

Jongin can tell that deep down, he's convinced, even if he shouldn't be. "I don't need your sweet lies." Chanyeol can't even see into the future of those who aren't human.

"And I don't need fate, or whatever you call it, to tell me what I will be, what I will do, or how or what we will be in the future." He shakes his head. "I don't care about fate. I will be in your life, no matter what."

Jongin swallows, but the lump in his throat refuses to go. "Even when the goblin's bride is born?"

Everyone, even the lowly ghosts and wandering souls, knows that the goblin's bride is the only person who can relieve the goblin from his suffering, end his curse of immortality. The goblin's bride is something that, along with many others, Jongin isn't.

"Doesn't matter what. As long as you're here, in this world. Wherever you are, I will find you. And I will be with you. Always," Chanyeol promises, his lips brushing against Jongin's cheek, the end of his mouth, as he speaks. Jongin is small in Chanyeol's warm hands as he takes in the painfully sweet assurance, takes in Chanyeol's sweet, sweet words, even if he knows he shouldn't believe, shouldn't even care at all.

And, as always, Jongin falls. As always, Jongin falls, and falls, and falls. Always falls for Chanyeol. Over and over again.


End file.
